Tabuthema Psyche? Offenheit statt Vorurteil!

Title translated into English

Mental health at work - a taboo topic?

Film: Duration in minutes

08:51 minutes

Product description

Exhausted, tired, burnt out? Sebastian Zippler knows this feeling. After a period of total exhaustion, he had to take a break. He sought professional help and spoke openly about the illness with his colleagues and his manager. An important step to regain stability and return to working life. Today Sebastian is doing well, he has both feet firmly on the ground and wants to share his story to encourage others.

In the video, the Siemens employee talks about his experiences with burnout, therapy, returning to work and how he has set up his life to protect himself from similar crises in the future. He also makes clear how the company can/should act preventively and supportively.

Aims and objectives

Every fourth adult experiences a mental illness. 70 percent do not seek help for fear of prejudice and stigmatization: being considered unreliable, no longer able to cope with stress or to perform well prevents many of those affected from talking openly about their illness. At Siemens, we try to bring psychological issues out of the taboo zone in the work context, and an open approach to the topic helps in coping with an existing mental illness. It's also necessary to identify and prevent inappropriate stresses and strains at an early stage.

But it is not only those affected who have to consistently implement changes in their everyday life when they return to work. Managers and colleagues, too, are called upon to become aware of their fear of contact with this topic and to actively reduce it. Sebastian Zippler spoke very openly with his colleagues about his illness, which made it easier for everyone, including himself, to deal with his situation, and he received a lot of support from his direct manager. She strengthened his back during the period of illness and made sure that he was offered another job. In addition, she worked with other managers to obtain professional support and discussed ways of reintegrating employees who had been ill for a long time.

The interview was conducted in 2015 on the voluntary initiative of an affected Siemens employee in Munich who would like to report on his burn-out experiences and thus contribute to clarification.

Target audience

Employees of Siemens + external parties

Contact details Editor

Siemens AG -HR EHS DE
Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, Germany-81739 München
0049 171 252 07 31 - 0049 171 252 07 31

Contact details Production company

MEDIA TV ANGRES GMBH
Knöbelstraße 24, de-80538 München
089411 299 69